Champions League Predictions

Champions League Predictions: Our Best Bets for Thursday

17 seconds ago

| BY Sam McLoughlin

William Hill News tipster @Footy_Tipster previews Thursday’s UEFA Champions League action from across Europe.

Fenerbache v AS Roma Prediction: Both Teams To Score & Draw (16/5), Fenerbache 2-2 Roma (10/1)

PSV Eindhoven v Shakhtar Donetsk Prediction: Match Result & 3+ Goals – PSV Eindhoven (4/5), PSV 3-2 Shakhtar Donetsk (14/1)

Bayern Munich v Bodo/Glimt Prediction: Harry Kane To Score 2 Or More (13/10), Bayern Munich 5-1 Bodo/Glimt (12/1)

Como v RB Leipzig Prediction: Como To Win (17/20), Como To Win 1-0, 2-0 or 2-1 (3/1 – Price Boost)

Slavia Prague v Lens Prediction: Both Teams To Score & Over 2.5 Goals (21/20), Slavia Prague 2-2 Lens (10/1)

The UEFA Champions League action continues on Thursday evening.

At 5.45pm, Fenerbahçe host Roma as both sides return to Champions League action looking to make early statements in a tough league‑phase draw, whilst PSV welcome Shakhtar Donetsk to Eindhoven with the Dutch side aiming to finally end their long run of Matchday 1 defeats.

Later that evening, Bayern Munich open their campaign at home to Bodø/Glimt, with the German champions defending a remarkable 38‑match unbeaten run in league‑phase games at the Allianz Arena, Como make their Champions League debut as they take on RB Leipzig in what promises to be a landmark night for the Italian newcomers and Slavia Prague face Lens in a meeting of two Pot 4 sides, with the hosts still chasing their first Champions League win since 2007.

Now, let’s take a closer look at some UEFA Champions League odds and betting angles for Thursday’s fixtures:

Fenerbache v AS Roma – Thursday, 5.45pm

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Fenerbahçe return to the UEFA Champions League for the first time since the 2008/09 season, and including qualifiers, they’ve racked up 154 European matches since their last appearance at this level (W72, D42, L40). It’s been a long road back, but history suggests they could make a winning return.
The Turkish giants have won their last three home matches against Italian opposition in Europe, keeping clean sheets in all of them, and they arrive here unbeaten across their six Champions League qualifiers (W4, D2).
The last time Fenerbahçe opened a Champions League campaign at home, they beat Inter Milan 1–0 back in 2007 and William Hill make İsmail Kartal’s side 9/4 to claim all three points again.

Roma, meanwhile, haven’t played Champions League football since reaching the Round of 16 in 2018/19, but facing Turkish opposition shouldn’t faze them.
The Giallorossi have won their last five matches against Turkish sides, four of them without conceding, although Italian clubs have struggled on Turkish soil recently, none of the last five to travel have come away with a victory (D2, L3).
Roma come into this one in strong scoring form, having netted 2+ goals in eight straight competitive matches, winning all eight. That will encourage Gian Piero Gasperini’s men, and punters can back the Italian side at 23/20 with William Hill to start their Champions League campaign with a win.

PSV Eindhoven v Shakhtar Donetsk – Thursday, 5.45pm

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PSV return to UEFA Champions League action after being eliminated in last season’s league phase, and they’ll be hoping to reach the knockout rounds again, something they’ve managed in two of their last three appearances in the competition.
Matchday 1 has been a real stumbling block for the Dutch side, though, with PSV losing their opening Champions League fixture in each of their last five campaigns. Their last Matchday 1 victory came back in 2015/16, a memorable 2–1 win over Manchester United in Eindhoven.
There is encouragement, however: PSV have won their last three Champions League meetings with Ukrainian opposition, a trend that reads well ahead of Thursday’s clash. They head into this one as the 2/5 odds‑on favourites with William Hill.

This marks Shakhtar Donetsk’s 20th Champions League league‑phase participation — more than any other Ukrainian club — and they return to the competition after reaching the Europa Conference League semi‑finals last season.
Their record in the Netherlands is less inspiring: Shakhtar have won just one of their six major European away games in the country (D1, L4), a 2–1 victory over Feyenoord in 2017.
They’ve also struggled on the road in the Champions League more broadly, winning only two of their last fifteen away fixtures (D3, L10), and losing five of their last six (D1). Shakhtar head to Eindhoven as the 5/1 outsiders with William Hill to start their campaign with a shock victory.

Bayern Munich v Bodo/Glimt – Thursday, 8pm

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Winners of this competition on six occasions, Bayern Munich begin their latest UEFA Champions League campaign after reaching the semi‑finals last season, where they narrowly fell to eventual champions PSG. As ever, expectations are sky‑high for the German giants.
Bayern are backed to go deep again — they’ve reached at least the quarter‑finals in each of their last seven campaigns, and a winning start on Thursday is strongly expected. They’ve won their opening match in 22 consecutive Champions League seasons, with their last Matchday 1 slip coming all the way back in 2002, a 2–3 home defeat to Deportivo La Coruña.
Their home record in the competition is even more staggering: Bayern are unbeaten in 38 Champions League group‑stage/league‑phase matches at the Allianz Arena, winning 36 and drawing 2 since a 2–3 loss to Manchester City in 2013. It’s the clearest reason they’re such heavy odds‑on favourites here.

Bodø/Glimt, meanwhile, became one of last season’s great stories, making their Champions League debut and reaching the Round of 16 while beating Manchester City, Atlético Madrid, Inter Milan and Sporting along the way. They return with nothing to fear and everything to gain.
Glimt have drawn both of their previous away games against German opposition, including last season’s 2–2 thriller at Dortmund on Matchday 6, but they’ve never beaten a German side in UEFA competition.
What they do bring is goals, the Norwegian champions have scored 2+ goals in 11 of their last 12 UEFA matches, suggesting this could be another lively encounter. Punters can back Bodø/Glimt at 16/1 with William Hill to pull off another famous European upset.

All odds subject to change – prices accurate at the time of writing

Como v RB Leipzig – Thursday, 8pm

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Como were rewarded for their highest‑ever Serie A finish last season, with fourth place securing their first‑ever UEFA Champions League appearance. They now become the sixth Italian club to compete in the modern UCL — a landmark moment for a side still writing the early chapters of their top‑flight story.
Head coach Cesc Fàbregas made 104 Champions League appearances across spells with Arsenal, Barcelona and Chelsea, and while he never lifted the trophy as a player, there’s genuine optimism that he can guide Como into the knockout stages at the first attempt.
Their defensive record offers real encouragement — Como conceded the fewest goals in Serie A last season (29), a foundation they’ll hope translates to Europe’s biggest stage. William Hill make them the 17/20 favourites to start with a win.

RB Leipzig return to the Champions League after a season away from European competition, having been eliminated in the league phase back in 2024/25.
Their draw looks tougher this time, but they have travelled well to Italy in the past, winning two of their three away matches against Italian sides (L1), though their most recent trip ended in a 1–0 defeat to Inter.
Leipzig’s broader Champions League form is a concern, they’ve won just one of their last ten matches in the competition proper (D1, L8) and have failed to keep a clean sheet in 18 straight European fixtures. It could be another difficult night on the road, and William Hill price them at 11/4 to take the points in Como.

Slavia Prague v Lens – Thursday, 8pm

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Slavia Prague finished last season’s UEFA Champions League league phase 34th out of 36, failing to win any of their eight matches and collecting just three points (D3).
They welcome Lens on Thursday night still searching for their first victory in the Champions League proper since 2007, and they’re now winless in nineteen straight UCL matches (D7, L12).
The only previous meeting between these sides came in the 1995/96 UEFA Cup third round, where Slavia progressed 1–0 on aggregate after a 0–0 draw in Czechia and a 1–0 win in France. William Hill make the hosts 6/4 to finally break their long drought.

This is Lens’ fourth Champions League campaign after appearances in 1998/99, 2002/03 and 2023/24, though they’ve never reached the knockout stages. It’s also their first taste of the new league‑phase format.
French clubs have struggled badly away at Slavia Prague in recent years, the last to win here was Lille in a 5–1 Europa League victory back in 2009. Since then, all three French visitors have lost.
Goals look likely: Lens failed to score in only three of their 18 Champions League group‑stage matches, and none of those 18 games finished goalless. Punters can back Lens at 4/1 with William Hill to win this one while conceding in the process.